Remember Me
by XxBunnyKnightxX
Summary: 'Now, you will become the female Oni you were always meant to be.' " He whispered. His hands went to her temples and pushed. What happens when Kazama take it a little too far. COMPLETE.


Summary: What if Kazama was successful the second time he tried to kidnap Chizuru? How would it affect the Shinsengumi? Would it affect even the great demon vice-commander?

**A/N: I just recently got into watching the anime and I have to say, it's AMAZING! Seriously! I think this may be my new favorite! Anyway, I feel like Chizuru should be more powerful than she is, because she's a Oni. The Oni shown in the anime, seem to be pretty damn powerful, so I didn't want her to be any different. Oh yeah! BTW: I do not own Hakouki! **

**BTW2: When Kazama kidnaps Chizuru, I'm gonna pretend that Kondu is out somewhere. Hijikata's team gets back before Kondu does. **

"Please stop this! No more!" Chizuru cried out.

Kazama smirked. He grabbed her arm and forcefully embraced her. Using the butt of his sword, he struck her in the chest, causing her to lose consiousness. As her body sagged, he gently layed her down. "

Now, you will become the female Oni you were always meant to be." He whispered. His hands went to her temples and pushed. Chizuru cried out in agony. Soon her screams of pain died down and she relaxed into him.

"Chizuru-sama." He whispered. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Kazama-san?" She asked lathargically. She was confused. What was she doing here? Wasn't she supposed to be with Kazama at home?

"Where are we?" Kazama smirked. _So it worked... She no longer has any memories of this place. _

"It's of no consequnce. Soon, we shall be returning home. Would you like that?" She smiled.

"Sure..." She replied with uncertainty. They walked together to the front gate.

"CHIZURU-CHAN!" Sanosuke cried out. "What are you doing?!" She looked at the unfamiliar men.

"Who are you? Do I know you?" She asked, emotionless. Kazama smirked victoriously.

"Now that she realizes her true Oni heritage, she has no desire to hang around mere humans any longer." Chizuru looked around. This place... it seemed familiar to her.

"Can we go now?" She asked quietly. "I wish to go home."

"Chizuru, you are home!" Hijikata called out desperatly. The men looked at Hijikata in surprise. Never had they heard their leader sound so desperate.

"No. Home is with Kazama-san, Shiranui-san, and Amagiri-san... Isn't it?" She said confusedly. She was starting to lose focus. "What's happening to me?" Kazama grabbed her just as she lost conciousness for the second time that night.

"We have what we came for. Let's go." Amagiri nodded and Shiranui grinned. "Later." He called out. Harada grimaced.

"You bastards! Come back here!" He shouted.

"Chizuru-chan!"

Hijikata shouted out in frustration.

"We're going after them, right?" Sanosuke asked.

"We can't just leave Chizuru-chan with those filthy bastards!" Shinpachi agreed with Sanosuke

"No, but we can't just leave to go after them either." Sannan replied thoughtfully. "Kondou-san entrusted the Shinsengumi to us while he is away recruiting. We can't just leave the men."

"We have to get Chizuru back! She's our number one priority!" Harada exclaimed.

"I shall go retrive her." Hijikata said darkly. "She's not leaving us that easily." Shinpachi grinned. "I'm going too! There's no way I'm leaving my imouto-chan in the hands of those assholes!"

Sano nodded. "Me too."

Sannan sighed and smiled. "While I would join you to retrive Yukimura-kun, someone has to stay here and keep the men in line."

Hijikata gave a tiny smile. "I knew I could count on you." He thanked Sannan for doing what he could not. "We will leave first thing tomorrow morning." Hijikata said to his men. _Chizuru, I'm so sorry I let this happen to you._ Hijikata thought as he walked to his room.

"What happened out there? Is Chizuru-chan okay?" Okita inquired from the doorway. Hijikata looked at him with despair in his eyes.

"No. They took her. The bastards took her." Okita looked angry.

"What do you mean they took her?! Just what the hell happened?" Hijikata sighed.

"That fucking bastard, Kazama, must have messed with Chizuru's mind. She just... walked out with them." Souji looked at Hijikata with surprise.

"Chizuru-chan would never have gone with those bastards willingly!" Okita replied darkly. "We both know that."

"The problem is, what did Kazama do to Chizuru?" Hijikata wondered.

**Elsewhere**

Kazama looked down at the sleeping oni in his arms. "Finally. You're father is going to be so happy to see you." He whispered. She stirred a little bit at the sound of his voice, but soon went back to sleep.

_"Chizuru-chan! You're up early!" "_

_Did you have a nice sleep?" _

_"There's no besting you, is there?" _

_"There is no way you are alright!" _

_"You did good, kid." _

_"Chizuru-chan, why do you have to be so rough and forceful?" _

All these voices were rushing through Chizuru's head. She eventually opened her eyes to an unfamiliar setting.

"What happened?" She asked herself. "That's right! Kazama-san rescued me from that place! But why do I have the feeling that I don't belong here?"

_"Because you don't."_ She quickly turned around to see where the voice came from. Standing in the doorway was a man with long jet black hair and beautiful, gentle violet eyes. _"You belong with us, Chizuru."_ He said softly. She backed away and squeezed her eyes shut. "No!" she screamed. When she opened her eyes, the beautiful man was gone.

**Back with the Shinsegumi **

"Chizuru. Hold on. Just a bit longer." Hijikata whispered as Sanosuke, Shinpachi, Yamazaki and him moved out. They left just a bit before dawn so they could rest properly before retriveing their precious Chizuru.

**Flashback**

Souji desperately wanted to go, but Hijikata would not allow it.

"Chizuru wouldn't want you to push yourself too hard. For that matter neither do I." Hijikata had said to Okita.

Souji groaned. "I want to kill _something_!" Hijikata smiled a bit.

"Chizuru would have smiled at that, too." Souji said sadly. Hijikata put a hand on Souji's shoulder.

"We're going to get her back." He said firmly. Souji smiled.

"You better, or I'll kill you. Vice-Commander or no Vice-Commander." He joked.

**End Flashback**

Hijikata looked at the men beside him.

"Okay. We're going to do this the old-fashioned way. Yamazaki is going to attempt to track the Oni via his 'ninja' skills. When we get there, we're going to sneak in a get Chizuru out before anyone spots us. Obviously we're going to have be stealthy about this. Understood?"

"Hai!" They all replied. "Let's go get our girl back!" Shinpachi said enthusiastically. Hijikata looked to Yamazaki.

"Are you sure you can track them?" He asked seriously. Yamazaki nodded.

"I've had a lot of expeirence tracking." Yamazaki said emotionlessly. "I'm positive I can do this. I have to. For her."

Hijikata looked at Yamazaki with understanding eyes. He sighed. "We're counting on you." He said. Then he walked away. A couple hours later, they came upon a building. "This is it." Yamazaki said. They all looked at him seriously. "This is the building that Chizuru-chan is being held in. The footprints that we followed lead to here." Hijikata looked at his men.

"Remember the plan. Be stealthy. We don't want them to know we're here." Hijikata said firmly.

**With Chizuru**

"Chizuru-sama?" The servant's calling of her name broke her out of the trance she had been in.

"Y-yes?" She replied.

"The others are waiting for you." The servant said.

"Tell them I'll be there shortly. I'm still getting ready." She said.

"Of course." The servant left. Chizuru went to her closet to pick out a kimono. "Why do I have the feeling I haven't dressed like this in a long time?" She asked herself. She ended up picking out a red,blue,and green kimono **(A/N: Kind of the same one from the OVA series.**) and smiled. "This one."

_"Chizuru-chan, is that you?" _

_"Talk about a change! For a second I didn't know who you were!"_

_"Chizuru's just so damn pretty!" _

_"Chizuru's pretty, huh?!" _

Chizuru clutched her head in pain and dropped the kimono. "Again? What's happening to me?"

"Chizuru-chan?" She turned and ran into the red-haired, golden eyed man from yesterday. "It's me. Harada-san. Remember?" She shook her head.

"I really don't. Who are you to me? Why is this happening?!" She yelled. He embrace her.

"C'mon Imouto-chan. Let's go home." She didn't know why, but she felt like she could trust this man. She felt like maybe she could trust this man even more than Kazama-san.

"O-okay." Suddenly, the room filled with Kazama's men.

"You will put Chizuru-sama down immedently or die!" The leader demanded. Sano smirked.

"Nope. I'm taking back my imouto-chan." One of the men growled.

"You will pay for relating out beautiful Chizuru-sama with your filthy self." The man charged at Sanosuke, only to be dodged and stabbed through the chest with a spear. Soon, the others started charging as well.

"Damn. I was supposed to be stealthy, but I guess this is better than nothing. Are you coming, Chizuru-chan?" He asked, while batteling the Oni's men. She nodded.

"I'd like to find out how we know each other." She said softly. Sano's eyes widened.

"So the bastard really did do something to you." Chizuru looked at him in confusion. The leader, now seeing that most of his men had been killed, ran away. "Coward!" Sano shouted at him then turned to Chizuru.

"Let's go!" He said. She nodded and Sanosuke picked her up bridal style and jumped out her window. They landed with soft thud.

Harada ran to what was decided to be the rendezvous point. He set her down. "Wait here!" He commanded.

She shook her head. "I don't want to be a hinderence but I cannot allow you to battle Kazama's men for me." She patted her short sword. He looked at her and sighed. "You never could just let us protect you." "Us?" She inquired. He smile.

"Us. Hijikata-san, Shinpachi-kun, Yamazaki-san, Heiskue-kun, and Saito-san." Those names rang a bell in her head.

"I think... maybe I know them too. Don't I?" She asked. He smiled and nodded. A man clad in the same uniform as Kazama's men appeared behind Harada and Chizuru froze. She pushed Sano away and drew her sword.

"Chizuru-sama?!" The man said in shock. She vanished and reappeared behind the man. She struck the man through his stomach.

"W-why?" The man asked as he died. Sano looked at Chizuru in shock. Not even before she had her mind messed with had she ever killed anyone.

"I'm sorry for that." She whispered. "But I have to find out what happened to me." She shook her sword of blood and put it back in it's sheath.

"Ch-chizuru-chan..." Sanosuke was shocked. Chizuru gave a small smile.

"I'm guessing you never saw me do that before." Sanosuke shook his head. "Harada-kun?!" A voice called out. Harada turned away from Chizuru and greeted the strange man that had appeared from behind her.

"Hijikata-san! Kami, am I glad to see you!" Hijikata glared at the boy. "I thought I said to be stealthy! The entire building is now aware that Chizuru is missing." Sano shrugged. "It couldn't be helped." Hijikata sighed. Chizuru just stared.

"Where is everyone else?" Sanosuke asked. "They're on their way." Hijikata replied. He looked at the man lying dead on the ground. "Nice work." Sano shook his head. "It wasn't me." Hijikata looked confused. His eyes widened as he realized that the only other person it could be was Chizuru. "She didn't." Sanosuke nodded solemnly. "She did. She saved my life though." Hijikata looked at Chizuru.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered. "

What for? It's what Oni's do isn't it? Kill." She replied emotionlessly.

"I never wanted this to happen to you." He embraced her.

"Hijikata-san." She whispered. Soon, she was clutching tightly to him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried out through her sobs.

"Shh. It's alright." Hijikata comforted her.

"I shouldn't be reacting like this. Oni are not like humans. We do not feel like humans do. But why does this hurt?! Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something I should never forget! I hate it! I hate this feeling!" Chizuru screamed.

Hijikata pulled away gently and wiped her tears.

"Let's go home." He whispered. "Yes." She replied. Harada looked at the two and smiled. _If he doesn't realize how he feels about her now then he never will._

"Guys!" Harada looked at the voice. Shinpachi and Yamazaki looked a little worse for wear.

"I see they found you, Chizuru." Yamazaki noted. The girl was still lying in Hijikata's arms.

"Yeah." Harada said quietly. Shinpachi looked to the dead man.

"That hole in his chest is too small to be from your spear." He said solemnly. "Did Chizuru..." He trailed off. Hijikata nodded.

"She did. She's not handling this very well." Shinpachi sighed. "Let's just go."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." Kazama said. They all looked up to see the blonde Oni standing on a tree limb. He hopped down.

"Oni belong with Oni. This is the way that it had been and is the way it always will be."

"Chizuru should be able to decide where she wants to be!" Hijikata growled. He turned to Harada. "Please take her and go."

"I won't leave you!" Sano protested. "Neither will I!" Chizuru exclaimed. Hijikata drew his katana.

"GO!" He commanded. Chizuru, Shinpachi, Yamazaki, and Harada all shook their heads. "We will not abandon you. Chizuru needs you, like you need her." Shinpachi said firmly. Chizuru turned red at that statement. She drew her sword and stood next to Hijikata.

"Although I don't remember you, I have a feeling that I need to stay by your side." She said to Hijikata.

Kazama looked at Chizuru in shock. _She really does love him then. _He scoffed and walked away.

"Where do you think you're going, Kazama? The fight has yet to begin." Chizuru called out. She charged him, aiming for his chest. Their blades clashed. "You think you can take me on, little girl?! I, who rescued you from the Shinsengumi?"

"I was there of my own free-will! I didn't need rescueing!" She counterd.

"I think she's remembering." Shinpachi whispered to Harada, who nodded.

Their blades clashed once again. Chizuru ducked and landed a kick at Kazama. Kazama flew backwards into a tree. The men looked at Chizuru in surprise. She turned around and smiled.

"I am an Oni, after all." She told them. She turned around and focused on her opponet.

"Think about what you're doing!" Kazama shouted at her. "You will never be accepted in the Oni society if you run around with humans! You're own clan would be ashamed of you!"

"That doesn't matter to me in the least. These men protect me. They are my friends and I will never abandon them!" Chizuru replied passionetly.

Kazama then said the one thing he knew would get Chizuru on his side. "Your father misses you dearly. How do you think he would feel, knowing that because his daughter messes around with humans, he will never see her again?"

Chizuru never looked at anyone with such anger.

"You think by bringing my father into this, that I will bow down to your desires?" Her hair was starting to turn white. She walked to where Kazama was lying, her eyes turning gold with cat-like slits.

"I am Yukimura Chizuru. I am my own woman. I decide what to do with my life and not a soul can tell me otherwise." She grabbed him by his throat and threw him into yet another tree.

"No one, not you, not my father, not even kami-sama himself can force me into something I don't want to do."

Her horns were starting to protrude out of her forehead. She grasped his throat and tightened her grip.

"The next time you or any of your friends comes after me or the Shinsegumi, I will not hesitate in ending you. Do you understand?"

Kazama looked into her cold, golden eyes and nodded the best he could. "Good." She released his throat and walked to Hijikata. "Let's go home." She said softly. "It's been a long day." Hijikata could do nothing but nod. Suddenly, Chizuru started swaying on her feet. She collapsed and started panting.

"I've used too much of my power." She whispered. Hijikata rushed to her side. "Do you need blood?" He asked in concern. She shook her head and smiled.

"No, but it's kind of you to offer." She whispered. "I just need rest." She closed her eyes and fell asleep against the demon vice-commander's chest.

"Remind me not to ever make Chizuru-chan angry." Shinpachi joked. Hijikata glared at him, then relented and smiled. He picked up Chizuru. "Let's go home." Hijikata declared.

_Chizuru, I missed you_ he thought.

They made it back to headquarters in time for dinner that night. However, Chizuru was still passed out, Hijikata took her back to his room. "Sleep well." he whispered. He kissed her forehead and walked out. She stirred in her restful slumber and smiled.

"So I take it that the mission was successful on your side." Sannan said.

Hijikata nodded. Konou looked at Hijikata.

"Toshi? I wasn't aware that there even was a mission to go on! What the hell happened while I was gone?!" He demanded.

"That bastard Kazama kidnapped Chizuru and did something to he head to make her forget about us. We rescued her and she kicked his ass." Kondu looked at Hijikata in surprise.

"Little Chizuru kicked the ass of Kazama? Man! I wish I had seen that!" They all laughed.

"I wish Heisuke-kun and Saito-san were with us." Kondu said, wiping the tears of laughter out of his eyes. This lowered the mood in the room quite a bit.

"That bastard, Heisuke!" Shinpachi groweled. They all sighed. It seemed that Shinpachi wasn't quite ready to forgive Heisuke for joining Itou's troops.

"U-um... Hello everyone." a small familiar voice came from the doorway. "Chizuru-chan!" Harada called out in surprise.

"Aren't you suposed to be resting?!" Hijikata demanded. She blushed and shook her head.

"I'm fine. Truly, I am." She assured Hijikata. He smiled and motioned for her to come in and sit.

"Aren't you hungry?" He asked her

"Ravenous!" She replied with a smile.

"Someone bring Chizuru some well deserved food!" Harada yelled out.

"I got it." Inoue said happily and left the room.

"I hear you defeated Kazama quite easily, Yukimura-kun." Kondou said to Chizuru.

"I'm impressed. You've got to show me your skills!" Chizuru smiled and shook her head politely.

"I'm afraid that I have to decline. I wouldn't want to hurt you, Konduo-san." Kondou gave a patient smile.

"No worries! I can hold my own!" Kondou stood and gave a tough guy pose. Everyone laughed at Kondou's antics. Hijikata stopped chuckling and looked at Chizuru. _She's so beautiful when she laughs like that_. His cheeks turned red and he looked away. Souji spotted the Vice-Commander's blush and smirked.

"Whatcha blushing for, Hijikata-san?" The Vice-Commander turned to glare at Souji. He got up and walked out of the room. On his way, he nearly ran over Inoue, who was carrying Chizuru's food.

"Excuse me." He said to Inoue as he walked to his room. Inoue looked at his superior with confusion.

"What just happend?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." Souji said innocently. Chizuru blushed as well. _Was he watching me laugh? Is that why he was blushing?_ She thought.

"Here you go, Chizuru-chan. Eat up!"

Chizuru thanked Inoue for the food and gulped down bite after bite. By the time she was finished, all the men were staring at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing!" They all said innocently and got back to their own meals.

"I'm going to check up on Hijikata-san." Chizuru declared. She politely left the room. Souji snicked. "Yeah she's going to 'check up' on the Vice-Commander." Even Sannan smiled at that. "We all know how they feel about each other!" Souji said. "I don't understand why they don't just get it on already."

"Souji!" Kondou repriemanded.

"What?! That's what everyone's thinking isn't it?" He asked.

"...That may be, but don't you go saying that to Toshi or he really will kill you." Kondou warned. Souji grinned. "Sure, whatever."

"Hijikata-san, are you alright?" Chizuru asked with concern. There was silence on the other side of the door. "I'm coming in... Is that alright?" She asked. Again, silence. She opened the door to find Hijikata at his desk working, as usual. "Hijikata-san?" She walked over to him. He turned to look at her.

"Chizuru." He whispered.

"What's wrong? Everyone is worried." She said. He turned his face away.

"What do you remember?" He asked abruptly.

"Almost all of it." She admitted. "The last thing I remember is Shimida telling us that Sen-chan was here to talk to us." Her eyes widened.

"Where is she?" Hijikata sighed.

"That was a couple days ago. She revealed to us that she, like you, is an Oni." Chizuru gasped.

"She's an... Oni? Like me?" Hijikata nodded.

"She also wanted to take you with her, to protect you. She warned us that if Kazama truly wanted you, than he would have you. We should have listened. I should have made you go with her!" He slammed his fists down on the table in anger.

"Hijikata-san, do you remember what I said to Kazama-san?" Chizuru asked.

_"I am Yukimura Chizuru. I am my own woman. I decide what to do with my life and not a soul can tell me otherwise."_

_"No one, not you, not my father, not even kami-sama himself can force me into something I don't want to do." _

"I do." Hijikata said, almost reluctantly.

"This applies to you too." Chizuru said firmly.

"Excuse me? I am your superior officer! If I order you to do something, you do it!" Hijikata yelled. Chizuru sighed then smiled.

"I obey your orders, because I want to." She explained. "But, I will not follow your orders, if I do not agree." Hijikata sighed. He cupped her cheek.

"This is what I most admire about you." He said softly. "You're not afraid to follow your heart. I wish I could say the same." Chizuru looked at Hijikata in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked. Hijikata sighed. _Just do it! Tell her how you feel! Grow a pair and do it!_

"I mean, my heart has been telling me... Well more like yelling at me, to tell a certain woman from Edo how she makes me feel." Hijikata admitted. "When I'm with you, I don't feel like the Devil Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi. I feel like Hijikata Toshizo. I feel as if I could single-handedly end this war just to make you happy. What I'm trying to say is..." Hijikata paused and looked away. "I love you. A lot more than I should."

Chizuru didn't know what to say. Hijikata sighed in frustration.

"See?! This is why I'm no good at this emotion shit!" Chizuru brought her hand to cup his cheek.

"Hijikata-san. Please shut up." He did as commanded and leaned into her touch. She kissed his forehead, his eye lids, both his cheeks, then, she sweetly and gentlely brought his lips to hers. Hijikata's eyes slowly closed as he leaned into her gentle kiss. The passion that he had long been denying slowly rose within him as he deepened the kiss. Tongues clashed together like the swords they both carried. Hijikata was the first to break away.

"Hmm." Chizuru mused. "Another benift to being an Oni seems to be that I don't need air as much as humans do." Hijikata laughed. He pulled her into his arms.

"I love you, Chizuru-chan." He whispered.

"As I love you, dear Toshi." She repiled tenderly. He blinked at Kondou's nickname for him fell from his lover's beautiful lips.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I'll just keep on calling you Hajikata-san." She said sadly.

"No. It's alright. I don't mind. It was just strange to hear that coming from someone other than Kondou-san." Chizuru gave him a beautiful smile.

"So... Does this mean I can keep calling you, Toshi?" Toshizo nodded. If it were possible, Chizuru's smile widened.

"You can be my Toshi-chan!" Toshi blushed.

"Only in private!" He said firmly. Chizuru laughed. "Of course! We wouldn't want the men to think you've gone soft." Toshi chuckled. "Stay with me tonight?" He asked. She smiled. "Always." They fell asleep holding each other.

The next morning, Souji was the first to awaken.

"Hmm... I didn't see Chizuru-chan return from Hijikata-san's room last night." He said to himself. He grinned and creeped down the hallway to Hijikata's room as quietly as possible. He slowly opened the door to see Hijikata and Chizuru sleeping together, both still fully clothed.

_Oh man! He's never gonna hear the end of this from me!_ Souji thought with a wicked smile. He slowly exited the room and closed the door.

One by one, the leaders of the Shinsengumi woke up. They gathered in the room in which thy usually took their meals. Soon, only Chizuru and Hijikata were the only ones missing. "Hey guys! Guess what I saw this morning!"

"Hmm... Sano-san's ugly face?" Shinpachi joked. Harada, however, was not amused.

"Nope. Try again."

"A rabbit?"

"Nope?"

"I give up."

"I saw a certain girl and a certain Vice-Commander all cuddled up together! In his room, no less!" Harada spit out the tea he was sipping. Shinpachi choked on his rice, while Kondou looked unsurprised.

"You guys know what this means right? Souji asked excitedly. "New teasing material!" Sano and Shinpachi exclaimed together. "I wouldn't if I were you." Kondou warned. "Hijikata-san is still the same 'no bullshit' Vice-Commander we all know and love. It's really unlikely he'll take that kind of teasing. If anything, you guys will have a harder time teasing him and Chizuru because you'll be so busy being punished."

"Damn right."

They all looked at the doorway. Hijikata and Chizuru were standing side by side. Chizuru's face was so red, she could be mistaken for a tomato, while Hijikata looked very pissed. "If I catch any of you teasing my Chizuru-chan, I'll..."

"It's okay, Toshi! I'm a big girl!" Chizuru interrupted Toshizo. He looked at her, silently asking her if this was okay. She nodded and smiled.

"If they give me a hard time, I'll kick their asses." She promised and leaned up to kiss his cheek. He blushed and Soji snickered. Shinpachi made a quiet whipping sound. Harada snorted.

"Okay, just for that, all of you can go clean the laterines. (A/N: I'm not sure if this is what they had, so I'm just going to go with it for now.) After that, you can go run twenty laps around headquarters." They all groaned. Toshi looked at Souji.

"Since you are sick, you can just go to your room and not come out for the rest of the day. Got it?"

Souji grinned, "Got it, sir." and left. "Maybe now, we'll have a little peace around here." Toshi grumbled. Chizuru giggled. "You're adorable when you're cranky." She remarked. "Hmmph. I am handsome. Not adorable. That kind of talk is reserve for fluffy animals and women." He grumbled some more. Kondou groaned. "Okay, this is too much..." He complained. "Take it somewhere else. Perhaps somewhere people aren't eating." At this, they both blushed and agreed not to do this in the company of Kondou or anyone else in the Shisegumi.

Later on, they all gathered. To their surprise, Hajime Saito was joining them. "Saito-kun!" Chizuru greeted warmly. Toshizo smiled. _No matter how long they've been gone or who they've gone with, she always greets them with a warm smile._ Saito bowed his head.

"Hello, Chizuru-chan." However, the others were not so happy to see him. "Hijikata-san, what the hell is going on? What is that traitor doing here?!" Shinpachi demanded. Toshizo, to everyone's surprise, calmly looked at Shinpachi. "Before they left, I asked Saito-san to infiltrate Itou-san's troops. He has gathered important information on their plans. Apparently, they are going to try and assassinate you, Kondou-san." Everyone gasped.

"Why would they do this?" Chizuru asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Saito said. "They feel threatened by the Shinsengumi." Shinpachi grinned.

"As well they should!" He bragged. One glare to Toshizo shut him up though.

"We have to find a way to get rid of him before his plans come to fruition." Toshi said. "

What about Heisuke-kun?" Chizuru asked. Silence fell into the room.

"If he gets in our way, we'll have to..." Toshi started. Chizuru glared at the Vice-Commander.

"Have to what?" She demanded.

"We'll have to kill him too." He finished.

"I can't believe you! Heisuke-kun is our friend! No matter what he decides, he'll always be our friend!" She looked at everyone else in the room. They all had their heads down.

"You're all fine with this?!" She yelled angerly.

"Chizuru-chan! That's enough!" Toshi said firmly.

"I can't believe you!" She said darkly. She got up, and slamed the door.

Toshi sighed.

"That's Chizuru-chan for you." Harada said lightly.

"I guess I'll go find her." Toshi said. He searched his room, then hers, even going to Souji to see if she had been there.

"I think she went to train." He said thoughtfully. He went to the dojo and smiled as he watched her practice.

"Need a sparring partner?" He asked. She jumped.

"Oh! Toshi!" She smiled then frowned when she remembered that she was upset with him.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly. "I just wish to talk." he said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"What is there to talk about?! Heisuke is your friend! He may have made a poor decision, siding with Itou-san, but still... He's our comrade." Her voice went soft.

"Do you honestly believe that any of us want it to come down to that? You said it yourself, Heisuke is our comrade. We don't kill our comrades." Toshi said. He put his arms around her.

"I think I could convince him to come back." She said hesitantly and leaned into his arms.

"Then do it. We all want that annoying brat back here with us." Chizuru smiled. Toshi pulled away.

"Honestly, do you want to spar?" He asked. She thought about it. _It would be good practice for him, to spar with an Oni_ she nodded. "Don't you dare hold back on me!" He warned. She laughed. "I won't" She promised. Both of them drew their swords. Chizuru charged first, attempting to knock the sword out of her lover's hands. But Hijikata blocked the attack. He swung at her feet, hoping to trip her, when she disappeared.

"How on earth do you do that?!" He cried out in frustration. He heard her giggle from behind him. He turned around to see the end of her sword, pointed at his throat. "Oni, remember?" She reminded him.

"Again?" He asked.

"Sure." She replied and lowered her arm.

They got back into their starting positions. He studied her.

_She defenetly has speed and agility on her side. Maybe if I went in for a big attack, I could knock her off guard. _He thought. Meanwhile, Chizuru was coming up with a strategy of her own.

_He knows that I have enhanced speed and agility due to my Oni heritage, so he's probably going to go for a show of strength. I could always pull the standard Oni 'disappear' trick, but he'd probably find some way to block it now that he knows what to look for. _She looked at him closely. His stance was one that could not be easily knocked down, yet he was able to flow with his sword. She straightend and sheathed her sword. Toshizo looked at her with confusion. "

What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm done for the day." She said. He sighed and sheathed his own katana. "Alright. Fine." They walked back to to main building, hand-in-hand.

A/N: THIS IS NOT THE END! I promise there's going to be another chapter!


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